System and method for offline voicemail deposit

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for an offline voicemail recording system are provided. A voicemail server establishes a session with a caller responsive to detecting the unavailability of a callee. Session information is transmitted to the caller and the voicemail server then purposely terminates the session with the caller. The caller can record a voice or video message offline, without an active connection to the voicemail server, and later upload the recorded message. The voicemail server correlates the uploaded message with the previously terminated session and notifies the callee of the receipt of the message.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/671,347 filed on Jul. 13, 2012.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to generally relate totelecommunications and more specifically to techniques for recording andstoring voice or video messages in a user's voicemail inbox.

BACKGROUND

When a caller calls a callee and the callee does not answer the call,the call can be diverted to a voicemail system which will answer thecall. The voicemail system allows the caller to leave a voicemailmessage for the callee. When the caller is finished leaving thevoicemail message, the connection to the callee's voicemail system isended.

In existing server side voice/video mail systems, during a deposit of avoice/video message, the end user records “live” their message to aparty on the server side. When recording real-time or live voice orvideo messages, users may encounter network latency, voicemail serverissues, bad coverage, or be in an environment that may not be suitableto leave a message (e.g. driving a car). If the user experiences aninterruption and is not able to record his message in real-time, thecall ends, and the user must retry his call at a later time.

Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a system and method thatobviate or mitigate the above described problems.

SUMMARY

It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate at leastone disadvantage of the prior art.

In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a methodfor offline message recording, performed by a network voicemail server.The voicemail server establishes a session with a first user terminal inresponse to detecting an unavailability of a second user terminal. Aninstruction to perform an offline recording is transmitted to the firstuser terminal. The session with the first user terminal is terminated.An offline recorded message is received from the first user terminal,and a notification is transmitted to the second user terminal of receiptof the offline recorded message.

In an embodiment of the first aspect, the step of detecting anunavailability of the second user terminal is performed responsive toreceiving an unavailable status message from the second device.Alternatively, the step of detecting an unavailability of the seconduser terminal is performed responsive to receiving a session invitationredirected from the second user terminal.

In another embodiment, the method includes the step of transmitting apersonal greeting associated with the second user terminal to the firstuser terminal.

In another embodiment, the instruction to perform an offline recordingis included in an instruction to terminate the session.

In another embodiment, the received offline recorded message includes anindication that the offline recorded message is associated with theterminated session. The received offline recorded message can becorrelated with the terminated session.

In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided avoicemail server comprising a communication interface, a processor, anda memory, the memory containing instructions executable by theprocessor. The voicemail server is operative to establish a session witha first user terminal in response to detecting an unavailability of asecond user terminal. The voicemail server transmits, through thecommunication interface, an instruction to perform an offline recordingto the first user terminal. The session with the first user terminal isterminated. The voicemail server receives, at the communicationinterface, an offline recorded message from the first user terminalassociated with the terminated session. A notification is transmitted tothe second user terminal of receipt of the offline recorded message.

In an embodiment of the second aspect, the instruction to perform anoffline recording is included in an instruction to terminate thesession.

In another embodiment, the received offline recorded message includes anindication that the recorded message is associated with the terminatedsession.

In another embodiment, the processor is configured to correlate thereceived offline recorded message with the terminated session.

In a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a methodfor offline message recording, performed by a first user terminal. Anoffline message is recorded by the user terminal in response toterminating a session with a voicemail server. The offline recordedmessage is transmitted to the voicemail server.

In an embodiment of the third aspect, the step of transmitting theoffline recorded message to the voicemail server is performed inresponse to evaluating a network condition.

In another embodiment, prior to recording the offline message, themethod includes initiating a call with a second user terminal, andreceiving a session initiation request from a voicemail server inresponse to an unavailability of the second user terminal.

In another embodiment, the method includes receiving a terminate sessionmessage from the voicemail server. The terminate session message caninclude an instruction to perform an offline recording.

In another embodiment, an indication can be transmitted to the voicemailserver hat the offline recorded message is associated with theterminated session.

In a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a firstuser terminal comprising a communication interface, a processor, and amemory, the memory containing instructions executable by the processor.The first user terminal is operative to record an offline message inresponse to terminating a session with a voicemail server, and totransmit, through the communication interface, the offline recordedmessage to the voicemail server.

In an embodiment of the fourth aspect, the transmission of the offlinerecorded message is performed in response to the processor evaluating anetwork condition.

In another embodiment, an indication that the offline recorded messageis associated with the terminated session is transmitted.

In another embodiment, the first user terminal is further operative toinitiate a call with a second user terminal; to receive, at thecommunication interface, a session initiation request from a voicemailserver in response to an unavailability of the second user terminal; andto receive, at the communication interface, a terminate session messagefrom the voicemail server. The terminate session message can include aninstruction to perform an offline recording

Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparentto those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the followingdescription of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction withthe accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the attached Figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a call flow diagram;

FIG. 2 is a call flow diagram;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method performed by a voicemailserver;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method performed by a userterminal; and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example apparatus according toembodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods for enablingthe offline recording of a voicemail message, uploading the recordedmessage to a voicemail server and correlating the message with aterminated session.

Reference may be made below to specific elements, numbered in accordancewith the attached figures. The discussion below should be taken to beexemplary in nature, and not as limiting of the scope of the presentinvention. The scope of the present invention is defined in the claims,and should not be considered as limited by the implementation detailsdescribed below, which as one skilled in the art will appreciate, can bemodified by replacing elements with equivalent functional elements.

The present invention is directed to a hybrid voice/video mail solutionwhere both the video/voice mail server and the client (i.e. the mobilephone, tablet, PC, etc.) are involved in the recording, uploading, andstorage of a voice/video message. The deposit of the recorded message isthe result of a network re-direction towards the callee's voice/videomail server. In embodiments of the present invention, both the serverand client can use the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) protocol, orany other appropriate protocol, for controlling the communicationsessions.

The present disclosure will make reference to a network voicemail serverand voicemail messages, but it will be readily appreciated by thoseskilled in the art that voicemail messages may contain video content, aswell as conventional audio content, and can be processed by the systemand methods as described herein.

When the network redirects a caller to the voicemail system of thecallee, the voicemail system plays the callee's personalized greeting tothe caller. This is a familiar and typical voicemail user experience.During this dialog, the voicemail server can send a SIP INFO REQUESTmessage to the caller with a body in plain text to convey sessioninformation.

After the personalized greeting is played (or interrupted by caller),the session is terminated and the server is disconnected from thecaller's client. The caller is given the opportunity to record avoice/video message on the client, while being “offline” (i.e. there isno active session with the voicemail server). The caller can thentransmit the offline recorded voice/video message to the voicemailsystem, with the appropriate session information, and the message willbe stored in the callee's inbox.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the caller is referred to as the A-Party 10 andthe callee is referred to as the B-Party 40 in this example embodiment.The SIP Proxy/Media Gateway 20 and the Voice/Video Mail Server 30 areshown as separate nodes in this embodiment, however they may belogically implemented as a single node. The SIP Proxy 20 is used forcreating, modifying and terminating SIP sessions between the mobiledevice clients and the Voice/Video Mail Server 30. The SIP Proxy/MediaGateway 20 can be implemented as a Call Session Control Function (CSCF)node in a typical telecommunication network. The Voice/Video Mail Server30 is configured to store messages and notify users of the presence ofmessages.

In this scenario, A-Party 10 calls B-Party 40, but B-Party 40 isunavailable. The network redirects the call to B-Party's voicemailserver 30 via the SIP Proxy 20, as shown in lines 101 and 102 in thecall flow of FIG. 1. The SIP Proxy 20 sets up the session to the voicemail server 30 using a SIP INVITE message (line 103). The SIP dialog isset up and acknowledged with 200 OK message (lines 104) and ACK message(line 105). During this SIP dialog, the voicemail server 30 sends a SIPINFO REQUEST message (line 106) with a “content type” of “text/plain”including the following information: Session Type=video or voice; CalledParty=phone number; ID=numerical identification of this session. TheINFO message is then relayed to the A-Party 10 (line 107).

B-Party's personalized greeting is played via the Real-time TransportProtocol (RTP) stream (line 108). Following the play of the personalizedgreeting (or a termination of the greeting by A-Party 10), the voicemailserver 30 initiates a termination of the SIP session with A-Party 10 bysending a BYE message (lines 109, 110).

Having obtained the contents SIP INFO message body, the A-Party client10 will have enough information to continue “offline” after thecall/session is ended. Specifically, the SIP INFO REQUEST (of line 106)can convey the Session Type of the session (video or audio), the phonenumber of the called party (e.g. B-Party 40) and an identification (ID)of the SIP session. The client can launch an application such as audiorecording or the front camera to record a video message. The contents ofthe audio or video message can be captured by the A-Party client 10while offline and at a later convenient time uploaded to the voicemailserver 30. The ID in the SIP INFO REQUEST (line 107) can be used tocorrelate the message with the terminated session when the A-Party 10transmits message back to the voicemail server.

As shown in line 111, the A-Party 10 sends the recorded message to thevoicemail server 30 along with the session information receivedpreviously in the SIP INFO message. Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)or any other appropriate protocol can be used to deliver the content andassociated session information. Depending on the protocol used, thegateway 20 may not be needed in the communication path, and A-Partyclient 10 can communicate directly with voicemail server 30. Uponreceiving the message, the voicemail server 30 can send a notificationto the B-Party 40 (line 112) as an alert that a new message has arrived.The notification can be via any messaging format suitable for theparticular use case, such as Short Message Service (SMS) or MultimediaMessage Service (MMS).

FIG. 2 illustrates a call flow of another embodiment of the presentinvention. Lines 201-210 are identical to lines 101-110 of the call flowof FIG. 1. A session invitation (line 201) is diverted from anunavailable callee (B-Party 40) to a gateway 20 and a voicemail server30 (line 202), and a session is established between the caller (A-Party10) and the voicemail server 30 (lines 203-207). Session information istransmitted to the A-Party 10 (line 207) and a personalized greetingmedia is streamed (line 208). The voicemail server 30 terminates thesession with the A-Party 10 following the delivery of the sessioninformation (lines 209, 210).

The INFO message (lines 206, 207) can contain additional session relatedinformation, such as:

-   -   INFO sip:1234@example.com SIP/2.0    -   Via: SIP/2.0/UDP voice_video@example.com:5060    -   From: <sip:1.1.1.1@voice_video.example.com>; tag=d3f423d    -   To: <sip:A-Party@example.com>; tag=8942    -   Call-ID: 312352    -   CSeq: 2 INFO    -   Content-Length: 24    -   Content-Type: text/plain    -   Session Type=video    -   ID=160

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, following the offline recording of thevoice/video mail message, the A-Party 10 can initiate a new SIP sessionwith the voicemail server 30. A SIP INVITE message is sent, via the SIPProxy 20, to the voicemail server 30 in lines 211, 212. The session isestablished and acknowledged in lines 213, 214. The A-Party 10 cansubsequently return the session information that was previously receivedin the INFO message of line 207 with the INFO message of line 215, 216.The session ID in the body of the INFO message (line 215) will be thesame as what was previously received, however the Session Type can bedifferent. The voicemail server 30 can use the session ID to correlatethe new session with the previously terminated session. The recordedmessage can then be uploaded (line 217) to the voicemail server 30 andcorrelated with the terminated session. Upon receiving the recordedmessage, the voicemail server 30 sends a notification to the B-Party 40as an alert that a new message has arrived (line 218).

In an alternative embodiment, the respective timing of the sending ofthe INFO message (line 206) and the start of the RTP stream (line 208)can be reversed.

In another alternative embodiment, the INFO message transmitted from thevoicemail server 30 to the A-Party 10 in lines 206, 207 is notexplicitly required. In this scenario, A-Party 10 can store the SessionType (video or voice) and Called Party (phone number of B-Party)information, as this was known at the time of placing the original,unanswered call to the B-Party 40. A-Party 10 can receive the Session IDinformation as part of the RTP session that streams the personalizedgreeting from the voicemail server (line 208). A-Party 10 would thenhave all the information that is required to record a message offline,upload it to the server, and have it correlated to the terminatedsession.

On the client side, the receipt of one of the session INFO message (line207), the RTP stream of the personalized greeting (line 208), or the BYEmessage (line 210) terminating the session can be used to trigger thelaunch of an application on the A-Party's mobile device 10. Theapplication can be used for offline recording of the voicemail message,which can be audio and/or video depending on the indicated session type.The application can be configured to subsequently upload the messagecontents to the voicemail server 30 following the recording.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of the presentinvention. The method of FIG. 3 can be performed by a voicemail serverin a telecommunications network. The method begins by creating a sessionwith a first party, in response to detecting an unavailability of asecond party (block 310). The session can be initiated and establishedbetween the voicemail server and a mobile device associated with thefirst party. Detecting the unavailability of the second party caninclude receiving an unavailable status from a device associated withthe second party. Alternatively, it can include receiving a sessioninvitation re-directed from the second party to the voicemail server. Ifthe second party is unreachable, session requests may be automaticallydiverted to the voicemail server.

Session information is transmitted to the first party (block 320). Thesession information can include a session type (e.g. voice or video), anidentifier of the called party (e.g. the second party who was determinedto be unavailable) and a session identifier. Optionally, a personalgreeting media can also be transmitted to the first party (block 330).The personal greeting media can be associated with the second party orthe voicemail server itself. The voicemail server then terminates thesession with the first party (block 340).

A recorded voicemail message is received from the first party (block350). The recorded voicemail message can include audio and/or videocontent. The recorded voicemail message can also include the previouslytransmitted session information. Alternatively, the transmitted sessioninformation can be returned to the voicemail server in a separatemessage from the first party. The received voicemail message can becorrelated with the terminated session (block 360). The correlation canbe in accordance with the returned session information.

The voicemail server stores the received voicemail message (block 370).The step of storing can include initiating a storing of the voicemailmessage in a memory accessible by the voicemail server. The messagestorage can be local or remote. Optionally, the voicemail sever cannotify the second party of the receipt of the recording voicemailmessage (block 380). A notification message can be sent to a deviceassociated with the second party, so that the second can retrieve thevoicemail message.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating another embodiment of the presentinvention as can be performed by a voicemail server in atelecommunications network. The process begins in step 410 byestablishing a session with a first user terminal in response todetecting an unavailability of a second user terminal. The session canbe initiated with the first user terminal via a SIP INVITE message orany other appropriate messaging protocol. The unavailability of thesecond user terminal can be determined by receiving an indication ofunavailability from the second device or by receiving a sessioninvitation redirected from the second user terminal by the network.

In step 420, a personal greeting associated with the second user can betransmitted to the first user terminal. The personal greeting can be amedia file which is streamed from the voicemail server to the first userterminal. In some embodiments, the personal greeting can be a media filethat was recorded by the second user and uploaded to the voicemailserver. In some embodiments, the greeting can be a system messageindicating that the second user is unavailable.

In step 430, an instruction to perform an offline recording istransmitted to the first user terminal. This instruction can betransmitted at the conclusion of streaming the personal greeting to thefirst user terminal. Alternatively, the instruction can be included in asession termination message. In step 440, the session between thevoicemail server and the first user terminal is terminated.

Subsequent to the session being terminated, the voicemail serverreceives a recorded message from the first user terminal in step 450,the recorded message being associated with the terminated session. Thevoicemail server can receive session information from the first userterminal which indicates that the recorded message is associated withthe terminated session. This session information can be received alongwith the recorded message or in a separate message. Alternatively, thevoicemail server can correlate the received recorded message with theterminated message without receiving an explicit indication of theterminated session ID. The correlation can be made in accordance withthe calling party, the called party, the session type or otherinformation fields. In step 460, a notification is optionallytransmitted to the second user terminal indicating receipt of therecorded message from the first user terminal.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of the presentinvention as can be performed by a user terminal in a telecommunicationsnetwork. The process optionally begins in step 510 by placing orinitiating a call towards a second user terminal. The second userterminal can be identified by its associated MSISDN or by other means ofidentification. In step 520, a session invitation is optionally receivedfrom a voicemail server in response to an unavailability of the seconduser terminal. A session can be established with voicemail server andsession information and a personal greeting associated with theunavailable second user can be received in the session. In step 530, aninstruction to perform an offline recording is optionally received fromthe voicemail server. The instruction to perform an offline recordingcan include a request to terminate the session. Alternatively, the userterminal can interpret a terminate session message as an instruction toperform an offline recording.

The session with the voicemail server is terminated in step 540. Thetermination can be performed in response to receiving a terminatesession message from the voicemail server or, alternatively, the userterminal can initiate the termination of the session itself as describedabove.

Following the termination of the session, a message is recorded by theuser terminal in step 550. The recorded message can be a media fileincluding audio, video and/or multimedia content. The offline recordedmessage is uploaded to the voicemail server in step 560. Thetransmission of the offline recorded message can include an indicationthat it is associated with the terminated session.

In an alternative embodiment, the user terminal can establish a newsecond session with the voicemail server prior to uploading the offlinerecorded message. The user terminal can indicate to the voicemail severthat the second session is associated with, or should be correlatedwith, the previously terminated first session.

In another alternative embodiment, the user terminal can evaluate thenetwork conditions prior to the transmission of the offline recordedmessage to the voicemail server. The user terminal can determine thatthe network conditions are suitable for the uploading the recordedmessage. This step can include checking the channel quality, error rateor other network condition indicators and comparing them to apredetermined threshold. The first user terminal can wait until thenetwork condition(s) meet such a threshold before uploading the offlinerecorded message.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the term“offline” is used herein to indicate that the voicemail message isrecorded in absence of an active session or connection between the userterminal and the voicemail server. The user terminal may continue to beconnected to the telecommunication network, the internet, or any otherlocal or wide area networks.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an apparatus configured to implement thevarious embodiments as disclosed herein. The node 600 can be a voicemailsever or a user terminal according to embodiments of the presentinvention.

The node 600 includes a processor 602, a communication interface 606 anda memory 604. The communication interface 606 is operatively connectedto the processor 602. The memory 604 can be physically located internalor external to the node 600, and is accessible by the processor 602. Thememory 604 contains instructions executable by the processor 602 wherebythe node 600 is operative to perform the embodiments as disclosedherein.

As a voicemail server 600, the processor 602 is configured to detect anunavailability of a second user terminal and, in response, to establisha session with a first user terminal. The processor 602 instructs thecommunication interface 606 to transmit optional session information anda personal greeting to the first user terminal. The processor 602instructs the communication interface 606 to transmit an instruction toperform an offline recording to the first user terminal. The voicemailserver 600 terminates the session with the first party. Thecommunication interface 606 is configured to receive a recorded messagefrom the first user terminal. The processor 602 can correlate thereceived recorded message with the terminated session. The receivedrecorded message can be stored in the memory 604. The processor 602 cansend a notification, via the communication interface, to the second userterminal indicating the receipt and storage of the recorded message fromthe first user device.

As a user terminal 600, the processor 602 instructs the communicationinterface 606 to initiate a call with a second user terminal. Thecommunication interface 606 receives a session invitation from avoicemail server in response to the second user terminal beingunavailable or unresponsive to the placed call. The communicationinterface 606 further receives an instruction to perform an offlinerecording from the voicemail server. The session between the userterminal 600 and the voicemail server is terminated. The processor 602initiates a message recording after the session has been terminated andstores the recorded message in the memory 604. The processor 602instructs the communication interface 604 to transmit the recordedmessage, which is associated with the terminated session, to thevoicemail server.

The present disclosure takes advantage of the familiarity of theconventional voice/video mail experience where a server-sidepersonalized greeting is played and provides the guaranteed userexperience of an offline client-based solution which is not dependent onnetwork conditions nor an active session with a sever.

Embodiments of the invention may be represented as a software productstored in a machine-readable medium (also referred to as acomputer-readable medium, a processor-readable medium, or a computerusable medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein).The machine-readable medium may be any suitable tangible mediumincluding a magnetic, optical, or electrical storage medium including adiskette, compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile discread only memory (DVD-ROM) memory device (volatile or non-volatile), orsimilar storage mechanism. The machine-readable medium may containvarious sets of instructions, code sequences, configuration information,or other data, which, when executed, cause a processor to perform stepsin a method according to an embodiment of the invention. Those ofordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other instructions andoperations necessary to implement the described invention may also bestored on the machine-readable medium. Software running from themachine-readable medium may interface with circuitry to perform thedescribed tasks.

The above-described embodiments of the present invention are intended tobe examples only. Alterations, modifications and variations may beeffected to the particular embodiments by those of skill in the artwithout departing from the scope of the invention, which is definedsolely by the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for offline message recording, performedby a network voicemail server for a user terminal configured to performan offline recording of a message for later transmission, the methodcomprising the steps of: establishing a session between the voicemailserver and a first user terminal in response to detecting anunavailability of a second user terminal; transmitting an instruction toperform an offline recording to the first user terminal; terminating thesession between the voicemail server and the first user terminal;receiving an offline recorded message from the first user terminal inresponse to the instruction to perform the offline recording; andtransmitting a notification to the second user terminal of receipt ofthe offline recorded message.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the stepof detecting an unavailability of the second user terminal is responsiveto receiving an unavailable status message from the second device. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein the step of detecting an unavailabilityof the second user terminal is responsive to receiving a sessioninvitation redirected from the second user terminal.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising the step of transmitting a personal greetingassociated with the second user terminal to the first user terminal. 5.The method of claim 1, wherein the instruction to perform an offlinerecording is included in an instruction to terminate the session.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the received offline recorded messageincludes an indication that the offline recorded message is associatedwith the terminated session.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising the step of correlating the received offline recorded messagewith the terminated session.
 8. A voicemail server comprising acommunication interface for communication with a user terminalconfigured to perform an offline recording of a message for latertransmission, a processor, and a memory, the memory containinginstructions executable by the processor whereby the voicemail server isoperative to: establish a session between the voicemail server and afirst user terminal in response to detecting an unavailability of asecond user terminal; transmit, through the communication interface, aninstruction to perform an offline recording to the first user terminal;terminate the session between the voicemail server and the first userterminal; receive, at the communication interface, an offline recordedmessage from the first user terminal associated with the terminatedsession in response to the instruction to perform the offline recording;and transmit, through the communication interface, a notification to thesecond user terminal of receipt of the offline recorded message.
 9. Thevoicemail server of claim 8, wherein the instruction to perform anoffline recording is included in an instruction to terminate thesession.
 10. The voicemail server of claim 8, wherein the receivedoffline recorded message includes an indication that the recordedmessage is associated with the terminated session.
 11. The voicemailserver of claim 8, wherein the processor is configured to correlate thereceived offline recorded message with the terminated session.
 12. Amethod for offline message recording, performed by a first user terminalconfigured to perform an offline recording of a message for latertransmission, the method comprising the steps of: recording the offlinemessage in response to terminating a session between the first userterminal and a voicemail server; and transmitting the offline recordedmessage to the voicemail server.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein thestep of transmitting the offline recorded message to the voicemailserver is performed in response to evaluating a network condition. 14.The method of claim 12, wherein prior to recording the offline message,further comprising: initiating a call with a second user terminal; andreceiving a session initiation request from a voicemail server inresponse to an unavailability of the second user terminal.
 15. Themethod of claim 12, further comprising receiving a terminate sessionmessage from the voicemail server.
 16. The method of claim 15, whereinthe terminate session message includes an instruction to perform anoffline recording.
 17. The method of claim 12, further including thestep of transmitting, to the voicemail server, an indication that theoffline recorded message is associated with the terminated session. 18.A first user terminal configured to perform an offline recording of amessage for later transmission, the first user terminal comprising acommunication interface, a processor, and a memory, the memorycontaining instructions executable by the processor whereby the firstuser terminal is operative to: record an offline message in response toterminating a session between the first user terminal and a voicemailserver; and transmit, through the communication interface, the offlinerecorded message to the voicemail server.
 19. The first user terminal ofclaim 18, wherein the transmission of the offline recorded message isperformed in response to the processor evaluating a network condition.20. The first user terminal of claim 18, further operative to transmit,through the communication interface, an indication that the offlinerecorded message is associated with the terminated session.
 21. Thefirst user terminal of claim 18, further operative to: initiate a callwith a second user terminal; receive, at the communication interface, asession initiation request from a voicemail server in response to anunavailability of the second user terminal; and receive, at thecommunication interface, a terminate session message from the voicemailserver.
 22. The first user terminal of claim 21, wherein the terminatesession message includes an instruction to perform an offline recording.